Union men's lacrosse blanked in second half, loses 14-7 to Tufts

Lacrosse player with the ball and defender — PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Union's Peter Kip (13) handles the ball against Tufts' Cam Delcristo at Frank Bailey Field on Tuesday.

SCHENECTADY — A seesaw game turned into one long, slippery slide for the Union men’s lacrosse team on Tuesday night.

In a matchup of two of the top Division III teams in the country, the No. 6-ranked Dutchmen and No. 2 Tufts were tied 7-7 at halftime, but the Jumbos outscored Union 4-0 in the third quarter, and the Dutchmen’s downward momentum kept on into the fourth.

Tufts (8-0) shut out Union in the second half and won 14-7 at Frank Bailey Field, holding the Dutchmen (6-2) scoreless for a span of 36:06 that included the last six minutes of the second quarter.

Eleven different players, including goalie Conner Garzone, scored for the Jumbos, while the Dutchmen’s offense, with Peter Burnes and Michael Shaw out of the lineup, amounted to four goals from Jake Mabardy and one each from Zach Davis, who had three assists, Peter Kip and Justin Greene.

The teams played a back-and-forth first quarter featuring three ties.

Tufts twice came back from one-goal deficits, then Union did so, as Mabardy scored with 1:35 left in the period to make it 4-4.

Mabardy, Davis and Kip scored three straight in a span of 3:17 in the second quarter for a 7-5 lead, but the Jumbos came back again, tying it in the last five minutes on goals by Ethan O’Neill and Max Ettinghausen.

Mason Kohn scored six seconds into the third quarter to set the tone, as Jack Boyden’s 28th goal of the season and goals by Charlie Tagliaferri and Tommy Swank gave Tufts an 11-7 lead heading into the fourth.

Sam Frisoli scored two straight, and the Jumbos led 13-7 with 5:17 left in the game.

Garzone, who finished with 13 saves, got into the act on offense with the final goal of the game, with 3:34 left.

Union goalie Dan Donahue made 21 saves.

Tufts 4 3 4 3 — 14

Union 4 3 0 0 — 7

Tufts scoring: Garzone 1-0, Swank 1-0, Boyden 2-2, Kohn 1-0, Panagopoulos 1-0, Ayers 0-1, Murtha 1-0, O’Neill 1-0, Tagliaferri 2-1, Frisoli 2-0, Ettinghausen 1-0, Regnery 1-1, Sturim 0-1. Union scoring: Davis 1-3, Kip 1-1, Mabardy 4-0, Greene 1-0.

Goalies: Tufts, Garzone, 13 saves. Union, Donahue, 21.